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To feed vendors at your wedding or not? The great event debate can be seen from two different perspectives; the humanistic and the business mind.
The humanistic theory encourages people to feed vendors at any event especially if they are providing a service for you for a long time while the business mind theory is all for cutting extra costs especially if the vendors have been paid handsomely for their services.
Here are a few points to consider when deciding whether to feed vendors at your wedding or not:
Type of Vendor
You may consider different feeding arrangements for vendors that come in groups and vendors that come as individuals. For example, a group of ushers may be provided with lunch before they are engaged in service for the rest of the wedding reception while a DJ that has been hired for three hours for the night may have a lighter feeding arrangement or none at all. Don’t expect a celebrity performer to eat at your wedding; most of the time, they perform and disappear right after some pictures with the couple.
Vendor’s Service Charge
The vendor’s service charge may be a determining factor. One may expect that with a high service charge, a vendor should be able to make personal arrangements for feeding (individual or group) as opposed to vendors like waiters and ushers who may not be paid a substantial amount of compensation to purchase a meal out of.
Duration of Job
If the vendor is hired for a short time then there may be no need to provide food. The longer the duration of the job, the more it makes sense to feed the vendor. People who are standing throughout their service at your wedding for 8 hours deserve food, drink and a small sit down. The fire-breather that’s entertaining the guests will do so for a few minutes after which, a cool drink of water will suffice!
Special Provision
Some event planners are known for providing packed lunch and drinks or a separate feeding station from that provided for the wedding guests. This is because the spread for the wedding guests may actually be more expensive than that provided for the vendors working at the wedding. A cheaper but effective alternative may be to provide snacks, sandwiches and drinks for all vendors rather than having them partake in the five-course meal being served to the guests.
Generally, its good to treat everyone fairly, especially people who are going over and beyond to make your wedding special as opposed to just looking to cut costs.